132 Veterans Sign Letter Opposing Execution of Decorated Gulf War Veteran Facing Death Despite Combat-Related Brain Injuries
TALLAHASSEE, FL — In a powerful plea delivered directly to Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, 132 U.S. military veterans representing every branch of the armed forces urged Florida to halt the May 1 execution of Jeffrey “Ranger” Hutchinson, a decorated Gulf War veteran suffering from severe combat-related brain injuries. The open letter, hand-delivered to the Governor’s Office at 2:00 p.m., frames the planned execution not only as a miscarriage of justice, but as a national betrayal of a soldier whose service left him physically and psychologically broken.
“Jeffrey ‘Ranger’ Hutchinson is one of us,” the letter begins. “A decorated U.S. Army veteran, Jeff served our nation with honor from 1986 to 1994 as both a Paratrooper and an Army Ranger, roles that demand elite training, unshakable discipline, and extraordinary sacrifice.”
Hutchinson’s military service during the Gulf War was marked by extreme risk and trauma. He served in operations behind enemy lines in the Four Corners region where Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq converge—missions involving repeated exposure to concussive blasts and chemical warfare agents, including sarin nerve gas released during coalition bombings.
These exposures, the veterans argue, left Hutchinson with lasting and debilitating injuries now recognized as Gulf War Illness—a multi-system disorder linked to chemical agents and other toxic exposures during the 1991 conflict. They note that he returned from the war with significant brain damage, suffering from symptoms that include hallucinations, paranoia, cognitive decline, and uncontrollable aggression.
“Jeff suffered from neurocognitive impairment, hallucinations, paranoia, and uncontrollable aggression—symptoms we now understand were not character flaws but the result of traumatic brain injury and chemical warfare exposure,” the letter reads. “But instead of receiving care, Jeff was met with silence. The science was not there. The VA was not there. His government was not there.”
Despite these profound service-related injuries, Florida is moving forward with Hutchinson’s execution for a crime he committed nearly two decades ago. While the veterans make clear that they are not seeking to excuse Hutchinson’s actions, they insist that the appropriate response is treatment and accountability—not the death penalty.
“We write to you not to excuse his actions, but to demand that we, as veterans, recognize the undeniable truth: Jeff came home injured by war,” they state. “His mind was a casualty, just like any limb lost in combat. To execute him now is not justice. It is a failure of responsibility. It is the final abandonment of someone our country broke and then left behind.”
The signatories—who collectively represent more than 900 years of military service—span all regions of the United States and include veterans of wars from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. Some served in combat zones; others served in military medical roles or at veterans’ hospitals. Among the signatories are individuals who worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs and others who have advocated for wounded service members across multiple decades.
The letter’s signers include veterans like Randall James Dotts, who served in the 1st Ranger Battalion; Amanda Conley, who served 20 years in the Army; and Ronald McAndrew, an Air Force veteran who served in France, Belgium, and the Congo. Their collective message is that Hutchinson’s case is not isolated but emblematic of a deeper failure to address the psychological wounds of war.
Their letter is further supported by legal and policy advocates. On April 29, the Center for Veteran Criminal Advocacy, the Cornell Law School Veterans Law Practicum, and Disability Rights Florida filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court urging the Court to stay Hutchinson’s execution. The brief emphasizes constitutional issues, particularly those arising from Hutchinson’s mental impairments, and argues that his execution would violate Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
These groups argue that the Supreme Court must review the case given the overwhelming evidence of Hutchinson’s psychological deterioration following his military service, and the failure of the justice system to appropriately consider his disability during trial and sentencing.
The veteran-led campaign also raises broader questions about how the United States treats former service members after they return home. Despite the public’s stated reverence for the military, advocates say, the systems in place to support veterans—particularly those with invisible wounds like PTSD and traumatic brain injury—remain inadequate.
“As veterans, we know what it means to serve, and we know what it means when no one comes for you after the fight,” the letter continues. “We cannot be silent.”
Veterans and advocates alike are particularly concerned that Hutchinson’s case sets a dangerous precedent: that a nation can call upon individuals to sacrifice their health and well-being in the service of war, only to cast them aside when those sacrifices lead to complex mental illness or criminal behavior.
Medical research on Gulf War Illness has steadily grown since the early 2000s. Yet many veterans, like Hutchinson, never received treatment because the science wasn’t recognized in time—and because the symptoms were misclassified as behavioral problems rather than war-related injuries.
The signatories are urging Governor DeSantis to grant clemency, commute Hutchinson’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and acknowledge the role that military service—and government neglect—played in the events that led to his incarceration.
They argue that clemency in this case would not be a sign of weakness but of national accountability. “To execute Jeff now, knowing what we know, is to erase his service, deny his injuries, and undermine the solemn promises our country makes to those who serve it,” the letter suggests.
As of publication, Governor DeSantis has not responded to the letter. Hutchinson’s legal team and advocacy organizations have requested urgent reconsideration from both the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Unless a stay is granted, Hutchinson will be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on the evening of May 1.
For the 132 veterans who signed the letter—and for many advocates for justice, disability rights, and military accountability—the outcome of this case is not just about one man. It’s about what it means to send young people into war, what happens when they return, and what kind of society we are when they fall through the cracks.
“Jeff’s story is not one of evasion—it is one of abandonment,” the letter concludes. “We ask you, Governor DeSantis, not to add to that abandonment with an irreversible final act.”
